Salvaged cruise ship towed to Italian port

Costa Concordia to be scrapped in Genoa after one of biggest engineering operations in maritime history to refloat it.

27 Jul 2014 08:32 GMT

The Costa Concordia cruise liner has arrived at the northwestern Italian port of Genoa, four days after leaving the island of Giglio where it struck a reef and capsized in January 2012, killing 32 people.

The ship will be scrapped there and another search will be launched for the one victim that was never found.

In what Costa Crociere (Costa Cruises), the operator of the cruise liner, estimates is a billion-euro salvage operation - excluding the cost of its ultimate disposal - the Costa Concordia is being towed by Dutch and Vanuatu-flagged boats, while the flotilla carries divers, specialist engineers, a medical team, and environmental experts.

Close to 500 workers from around the globe have camped out for years in Giglio working towards the refloating and salvage of the vessel.

On the evening of January 13, 2012, the 4,229 passengers from 70 countries were settling into the first night of their cruise when their luxury liner struck a rocky outcrop off Giglio.

The Concordia's captain is on trial for multiple counts of manslaughter, causing the wreck, and abandoning ship before all aboard were evacuated.

Roughly twice the size of the Titanic, Costa Concordia is the biggest Italian passenger ship ever built - the length of three football fields. It boasted four swimming pools, tennis courts, 13 bars, a cinema, and a casino.